The AR-15 rifle Kyle Rittenhouse used to kill two protesters will be destroyed instead of returned to him
- The rifle Kyle Rittenhouse used to kill protesters will be destroyed, a judge ruled Friday.
- The Wisconsin state crime lab plans to destroy it later this year, officials said.
The AR-15 rifle Kyle Rittenhouse used to kill two protesters and injure a third amid unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 2020 will be destroyed by state authorities, a court ruled Friday.
Judge Bruce Schroeder, who presided over Rittenhouse's criminal trial, approved an agreement between defense attorneys and prosecutors at a court hearing Friday to allow state officials to destroy the rifle, rather than return it to the teen's possession.
Rittenhouse, 19, was acquitted of homicide, attempted homicide, and reckless endangerment charges in November. His defense attorneys said he was acting in self-defense when he fired his gun during the protest.
Rittenhouse asked for the gun back in a January 19 court filing, along with several other items that were taken while he was on trial. It was used as evidence in his criminal trial last year in Kenosha County as well as for a related case against his friend Dominick Black who illegally sold it to him. In an interview after his trial, Rittenhouse said he planned to destroy the gun, saying he didn't "want anything to do with it."
Thomas Binger, one of the prosecutors in the case, said the state's crime lab would destroy the gun sometime this year.
The remainder of Rittenhouse's items have been returned to him, Binger said in court Friday. Those items likely include the rest of the gun's ammunition, a cloth face mask, clothing, and a $1 bill, which Rittenhouse requested in his court filing earlier this month.
The judge ordered the return of the $2 million posted for Rittenhouse's bail following his arrest. The funds were raised by a foundation created by Rittenhouse's former lawyers, Lin Wood and John Pierce, who helped turned the teenager into a conservative political icon.
Pierce's creditors, donors, and Rittenhouse's current lawyers have disagreed on how the $2 million should be disbursed, according to ABC News.
Rittenhouse and his family severed ties with Wood, Pierce, and #FightBack, claiming they never received a full accounting of all the money that was raised in Rittenhouse's name, Insider previously reported.